Article

HCA Healthcare and Musicians On Call announce collaboration to expand live music programs in hospitals nationwide

HCA Healthcare and Musicians On Call announce collaboration to expand live music programs in hospitals nationwide
Charles Esten sings to HCA Healthcare patient with his guitar
Actor and singer/songwriter Charles Esten kicked off the collaboration with a special performance for patients and healthcare staff at HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee on December 6, 2022.

Today, HCA Healthcare and Musicians On Call (MOC) – a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients, families and caregivers in healthcare environments – announced a new collaboration to bring MOC’s live music programs to more hospitals across the country.

As part of the collaboration, HCA Healthcare is giving $1 million to fund the creation and launch of MOC’s proprietary online platform designed to enhance its program delivery to enable the organization to reach more hospital patients and healthcare workers nationwide. The online platform will help make MOC’s in-person and virtual programs more accessible to hospitals and help enable hospital patients and volunteers to easily connect to MOC’s programs. This initiative aims to transform how the healing power of music is used to improve the patient experience and make live music in a healthcare facility truly “on call.”

“We are excited to be working alongside Musicians On Call to bring their innovative live music programs to our facilities across the country. We pride ourselves on providing our patients and caregivers with a high quality experience inside our hospitals, and our expanded collaboration with Musicians On Call will help us to do that.”

Sam Hazen, chief executive officer of HCA Healthcare

“As more healthcare facilities see the profound, positive impact live music has on both patients and staff, the demand for Musicians On Call’s programs has grown at record speed. With this platform, facilities will be able to connect with MOC more efficiently so they can immediately experience the benefits of our programs,” said Pete Griffin, president and chief executive officer of Musicians On Call.

“This technology would not be possible without the support of funders like HCA Healthcare, whose belief in our mission is crucial in helping us on our path to the next million served.”

Pete Griffin, president and chief executive officer of Musicians On Call
HCA Healthcare colleagues smile for picture with Charles Esten.
Actor, singer/songwriter and Musicians on Call supporter Charles Esten met HCA Healthcare colleagues at TriStar Centennial Medical Center during a Musicians on Call/HCA Healthcare event on December 6, 2022.

Since 2012, HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation have given more than $200,000 to support MOC. HCA Healthcare facilities have hosted MOC Bedside programs for their patients and staff, including:

  • TriStar Centennial Women’s and Children’s Hospital
  • Sarah Cannon Cancer Center,
  • TriStar Centennial Medical Center
  • Good Samaritan Hospital
  • Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center
  • Sunrise Children’s Hospital

Additionally, HCA Healthcare has supported a number of special programs and initiatives including the annual Hope for the Holidays virtual concert experience and MOC’s 20th anniversary celebration. HCA Healthcare has colleagues who sit on MOC’s board of directors and advisory council, and serve as Volunteer Guides and Volunteer Musicians.

Since Musicians On Call began in 1999, more than one million people have experienced the healing power of music in the hospital. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MOC ensured its mission wasn’t interrupted by focusing its resources on expanding the capacity and reach of its virtual program, which has now impacted more than 250,000 people nationwide. With the new platform, the organization will have the ability to reach up to ten times the number of hospitals it currently serves.

MOC’s virtual and in-person programming are scheduled to be implemented in 16 HCA Healthcare hospitals across California, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

To kick off the collaboration, patients and hospital staff at TriStar Centennial Medical Center were treated to a special live performance by Charles Esten, star of CMT’s NASHVILLE and Netflix original series Outer Banks, this week. Esten visited patients in their rooms for private performances at the bedside. His visit marked MOC’s 10th event held at TriStar Centennial and the first in-person program since pandemic restrictions were put in place.

Charles Esten shakes the hand of a patient at HCA Healthcare.
Actor and singer/songwriter Charles Esten met with HCA Healthcare patients at TriStar Centennial Medical Center ahead during the 2022 holiday season. This marked Musicians On Call’s first live bedside performance in almost three years due to the pandemic.

For more than 20 years Musicians On Call has used music to promote and complement the healing process through in-person, virtual and digital streaming programs. Learn more about Musicians On Call: www.musiciansoncall.org.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, is comprised of 183 hospitals and more than 2,300 sites of care, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Our more than 283,000 colleagues are connected by a single purpose — to give patients healthier tomorrows.

As an enterprise, we recognize the significant responsibility we have as a leading healthcare provider within each of the communities we serve, as well as the opportunity we have to improve the lives of the patients for whom we are entrusted to care. Through the compassion, knowledge and skill of our caregivers, and our ability to leverage our scale and innovative capabilities, HCA Healthcare is in a unique position to play a leading role in the transformation of care.

Recent articles